The Official NHL 2006-2007 Season Thread

[axe]

Yeah giving it to a player on the losing team just does not happen often. I don't even remember it happening in my life.

Giguere won the Conn Smythe four years ago when the (Mighty) Ducks lost the finals to the Devils.

[tim_m]

Yeah giving it to a player on the losing team just does not happen often. I don't even remember it happening in my life.

Giguere won the Conn Smythe four years ago when the (Mighty) Ducks lost the finals to the Devils.

Well i stand corrected lol.

[Neemo]

I must say that bettman was a bit overjoyed to see a california team win

also Anaheim was running picks like crazy all series...i guess the obstructions calls took a back seat in the finals huh? And Neidermeyer shouldnt have won the Conn Smythe

[Mal Brossard]

Conn Smythe should have gone to Giguere or McDonald.

I didn't see any picks anywhere in the Finals, at least none resulting in any physical contact.

Seems like Bettman would be a bit conflicted here.  Yeah, another non-traditional market wins over a Canadian team for three years in a row, but it was also the team that led the league in fights, something the Bettmanist regime has slowly tried to remove over the years.

[Neemo]

Conn Smythe should have gone to Giguere or McDonald.

I didn't see any picks anywhere in the Finals, at least none resulting in any physical contact.

Seems like Bettman would be a bit conflicted here.? Yeah, another non-traditional market wins over a Canadian team for three years in a row, but it was also the team that led the league in fights, something the Bettmanist regime has slowly tried to remove over the years.

whether contact was made or not its still obstruction....doesnt matter all too much to me i was jsut saying. Anaheim is smart like that though just as the sens would dump and chase there would be a duck skating by infront of them, conveiently, to get in position. still the first period of the last game there was boring as hell...6 shots total ! geez

[CheapJon]

Samuel Ph?lsson should have won connsmythe



but yeah it's cool for sel?nne, he deserves it

[Mal Brossard]

whether contact was made or not its still obstruction

Rule 67, Note 4.

Pick:
A "pick" is the action of a player who checks an opponent who is not in possession of the puck and is unaware of the impending check/hit. A player who is aware of an impending hit, not deemed to be a legal "battle for the puck", may not be interfered with by a player delivering a "pick". A player delivering a "pick" is one who moves into an opponent's path without initially having body position, thereby taking him out of the play. When this is done, an interference penalty shall be assessed.

By use of the word "checks," it means contact must be made to be deemed a pick and thereby an interference penalty.

[Neemo]

A player delivering a "pick" is one who moves into an opponent's path without initially having body position, thereby taking him out of the play.

what about this part?

[Mal Brossard]

While that section is all well and good, the actual definition of a pick requires physical contact-- "A "pick" is the action of a player who checks an opponent who is not in possession of the puck and is unaware of the impending check/hit"

The section you quoted mentions a pick, but the first sentence of the section defines what a pick is.  What you quoted only defines who a player delivering a pick is.

[Neemo]

While that section is all well and good, the actual definition of a pick requires physical contact-- "A "pick" is the action of a player who checks an opponent who is not in possession of the puck and is unaware of the impending check/hit"

The section you quoted mentions a pick, but the first sentence of the section defines what a pick is.? What you quoted only defines who a player delivering a pick is.

gotcha...its all good. but IMO what the ducks were doing was impeding the sens speed...and thus disrupting their game plan

anyway it doenst matter to me really who won, though it woulda been nice to see the cup make it back to canada again....maybe next year

[CheapJon]

i don't think it will happen.. like no chance in hell.. but what would be grand would be if sundin if next season is his last he wins the cup but yeah.. won't happen

[Neemo]

i don't think it will happen.. like no chance in hell.. but what would be grand would be if sundin if next season is his last he wins the cup but yeah.. won't happen

it'll never happen while ferguson is the GM...that team that hm and Quinn have assembled is shit...they'll miss the playoffs again next year....mark my words

[Malcolm]

Sundin agrees to one year deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a one-year deal with captain Mats Sundin for $5.5 million.  It includes a no-trade clause.  An offical announcement is expected later today.  TSN reported on Monday that the Leafs would have been happy to sign a longer deal, but Sundin pushed for a shorter one. Sundin's salary cap figure last season was $6.3 million, so Toronto receives a significant savings with this deal.  It also gives the Leafs more flexibility beyond 2008 in case Sundin retires after the coming season. Sundin now controls his own destiny when it comes to ending his career on his own terms. Sundin had 76 points in 75 games last season, including 27 goals

Red Wings re-sign Chelios for one year

DETROIT (AP) - The NHL's oldest player has at least one more season left in him.After he filled in when younger players couldn't over the past two seasons, Detroit re-signed 45-year-old defenceman Chris Chelios to a one-year contract Tuesday, bringing the three-time Norris Trophy winner back for his 24th NHL season and ninth with the Red Wings.Chelios, who said the deal will pay him US$850,000 plus incentive bonuses, can reach another milestone next spring. He needs to appear in just two more playoff appearances to surpass Patrick Roy for the most career post-season games in the NHL.Of course, Chelios, who turns 46 in January, has more than that in mind after the Red Wings' elimination this season in six games at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Bruins sign defenceman Alberts

The Boston Bruins and defenceman Andrew Alberts agreed to a multi-year contract extension on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Alberts has appeared in 146 games over the past two seasons for the Bruins, racking up 17 points. He also led the Bruins last year with 124 penalty minutes."He is a big, tough and physical player who we think is only going to get better as he continues to develop as a NHL defenceman," GM Peter Chiarelli said in a statement.Alberts has spent the last four years in the Bruins organization after finishing his college career at Boston College.

[Mal Brossard]

Apparently Jim Balsillie has signed an exclusive deal that should he buy the Nashville Predators and decide to move them, he will only send them to Hamilton, Ontario.

[Malcolm]

Balsillie to commence Hamilton ticket plan

Jim Balsillie wants to prove Hamilton is a viable NHL market.Sources say the prospective new owner of the Nashville Pradators intends to do so by soliciting season tickets deposits for seats and suites at Copps Coliseum.
A season ticket campaign is expected to commence Thursday with all deposits fully refundable. Purchasers will put their money down with no promises in terms of when, or if, an NHL team will eventually call Hamilton home.
Sources say the price range for deposits is: $500 for upper bowl seats; $1,000 for lower bowl seats; and $5,000 for suites.
Balsillie's purchase of the Predators has yet to be approved by the NHL. The franchise is viewed as a prime candidate for relocation.

Lightning acquire Gratton from Panthers

The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired centre Chris Gratton from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2007 or 2008 NHL Entry Draft (Florida's option), Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster announced.Gratton, the Lightning's first-round choice (third overall) at the 1993 Entry Draft, played in 404 games with the Lightning from 1993-97 and 1998-00. The 31-year-old served as Tampa Bay's captain during the 1999-00 season and recorded 88 goals and 236 points in his two stints with Tampa Bay. He recorded career highs in goals (30), points (62) and penalty minutes (207) in 1996-97 with the Lightning.A six-foot-four, 221-pound native of Brantford, Ontario, Gratton spent the previous two seasons with Florida. His best season with the Panthers was 2005-06 when he scored 17 goals and recorded 39 points.  Last year he played in 81 games and netted 13 goals with 35 points while also leading the Panthers in face-off percentage at 51.2 percent."Chris Gratton is the ideal third-line center for our hockey team," Feaster said. "He has great size and strength, he is very good on face-offs, he has excellent grit and is willing both to take care of himself and defend his teammates, he is fearless when standing in front of the net on the power play and he has developed over time into a solid penalty killer as well. We believe Chris brings to our club a host of elements that we need in order to have the depth necessary to continue to be a top caliber team."We have been pursuing Chris for some time now, and I honestly thought we were going to be able to get a deal done to acquire him at the trade deadline this past season. While that did not happen, we never lost our interest in adding Chris as an ideal complement to Vinny and Richy as a big, strong, multi-faceted third-line center who shares our organizational commitment to winning. They say in life that 'the third time is the charm' and we truly believe that his third time in a Lightning uniform is going to be a great one for Chris and our team, and we welcome him back to the Lightning family."

[Malcolm]

Hasek says he wants to play next year

DETROIT (AP) - Dominik Hasek wants to play another season for the Red Wings.
"We haven't talked contract yet because the whole issue was whether Dom wanted to play or not," general manager Ken Holland told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "His agent told me Friday that he wanted to come back, but we agreed to let him take his vacation over the next few days to make sure that's what he really wanted to do. When he returned, nothing changed."He wants to come back to Detroit. But he's an unrestricted free agent, so now we have to negotiate a new deal. .. I don't anticipate it being a problem finding common ground."

Keenan to Calgary? It's a possibility

It looks like "Iron Mike" could be back in business behind the bench of an NHL team.
Sources tell TSN that Mike Keenan is on the verge of  becoming the new head coach of the Calgary Flames.
While the Flames declined to comment when contacted by TSN today, sources confirm Keenan is currently in Calgary and if all goes as expected, the well-traveled NHL executive and coach could be announced as the head coach of the Flames as early as Thursday.If so, that would appear to leave current Flames' head coach Jim Playfair as odd man out, but if Keenan is able to finalize his deal with the Flames, it's possible Playfair may be kept in the organization, but his fate remains unclear at this point.The Flames went 43-25-10, finishing 8th in the Western Conference last season under Playfair.  They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs.Keenan's last job in the NHL was with the Florida Panthers where he was replaced by Jacques Martin just prior to the 2006-07 season.  The Panthers were Keenan's seventh NHL team. He began his NHL career as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984.  He captured the Jack Adams trophy awarded to the league's top coach in 1985 while leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final.  He also took the Chicago Blackhawks to the Finals in 1988.

[Malcolm]

Sabres sign Ruff, Regier to new deals

Larry Quinn went out of his way to compliment Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier's loyalty and commitment after both re-signed with Buffalo on Thursday.The Sabres managing partner's comments could also have been interpreted as a message to Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the team's co-captains and biggest off-season question marks - both eligible to become the NHL's most coveted free agents July 1.''The last buck wasn't what they were looking for,'' Quinn said, referring to Ruff and Regier. As for someone looking for that last buck, Quinn said ''as good as he might be, you probably don't want him.''Quinn added: ''We're looking for people who believe in being a Buffalo Sabre.''It's two down, two big names to go for Buffalo after it retained the architects of a team coming off consecutive 50-win seasons and reaching the Eastern Conference final both times.

Flyers sign Niittymaki to two-year deal

The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed goalie Antero Niitymaki to a two-year deal.The 26-year-old Finland native posted a 9-29-9 record with a 3.38 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 52 games last season. He had been a restricted free agent.''We believe that Antero is a very good young goalie,'' GM Paul Holmgren said in a release Thursday. ''He is only 26 years old and we feel that he is still on the upswing.''We feel that our goaltending, along with Marty Biron, is strong, and we are excited to have both of them under contract.''Niittymaki is 35-44-15 with a 3.12 GAA and .896 save percentage in 101 career games with Philadelphia.

Flames name Keenan new head coach

CALGARY (CP) - Mike Keenan is back in the NHL.The Calgary Flames have officially announced that he'll replace head coach Jim Playfair, who will become an associate coach with the team.''Together, they will do remarkable things for this team,'' Flames GM Darryl Sutter said at a news conference Thursday.Keenan joins his eighth NHL team as either a coach or general manager. He last worked in the league for the Florida Panthers but abruptly resigned as GM in September 2006 with more than two years remaining on his contract. It's believed he was forced out due to differences of opinion on personnel with his head coach Jacques Martin.He's agreed to a three-year deal with the Flames.

[COMAMOTIVE]

The Ranges need to ink Shanny for one more year, and then go sign a productive goal - scorer to help Jagr.

[Malcolm]

Canadiens deal Samsonov to Blackhawks

MONTREAL (CP) - Sergei Samsonov's rocky tenure with the Montreal Canadiens is over.The 28-year-old forward was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday for defenceman Jassen Cullimore and forward Tony Salmelainen.Samsonov, a Moscow native, had a disappointing year after signing on with the Habs as a free agent in the off-season. He had just nine goals and 17 assists in 63 games. Samsonov was a healthy scratch for the last 13 games of the season after he questioned whether he made the right move in signing with the team.Samsonov has one season at US$3.5 million left on his contract.

[Mal Brossard]

Dave Lewis and Marc Habscheid are out in Boston.  Mike Milbury could be their new coach.